People Don't Change
by leopardsnow
Summary: A fanfiction of the website Dragoncave about a breeder getting a very interesting apprentice. Any relation to persons living or dead is coincidental.


**Dragoncave was the creation of TJ09, and belongs to him. Any user mentioned in this I do not know, so any descriptions, personalities, and the like are not right, or if right, are purely coincidental. Also, I will only use the user names of dragoncave members that seem to come up a lot, so if anyone is on here that someone thinks shouldn't be, or someone is not on here that someone thinks should be, I apologize. Enjoy, and any comments are greatly appreciated. If you would like to see pictures of the dragons I talk about in here, visit the dragoncave wiki.**

(An average day.) Leopard Snow thought, as she woke to a scaly green sky striped with broad yellow bands. Several pygmies had wedged themselves in her warmest areas, while one unfortunate soul had somehow tangled himself in her hair.

"Mantis!" she groaned as she sought to unravel the little misfit pygmy from her already tangled locks. Mantis on the Flower Petal was an average specimen of his species, with bright teal scales interspersed with various colored rings and dapples, dainty claws, and a sturdy body roughly the size of a young house cat. Clearly, Mantis loved to make her life miserable as well as other dragons'. After successfully freeing him, Leopard Snow hit her fist against the brilliant green wall next to her.

"Twilight Dancer!" she yelled. "Let me out from underneath your wing, you great Neotropical mass!" With a snort and groan, the green sky fell away to reveal a much more normal sight: brown stone walls illuminated by skylights laboriously hewn into the rock. Leopard Snow sighed as she thought of the work in front of her today, simultaneously munching on an apple (presented to her by Moth Under the Leaves, a much more tolerable Misfit Pygmy) that was her breakfast. Being a dragon breeder was no easy and lucrative profession, but it sure beat being a laborer or housewife. Gazing into Twilight Dancer's large brown eyes, she smiled. Life without the beasts would be duller than a mud puddle.

As Leopard Snow got dressed, it became obvious why she had the name that she did. Her body was long, slim, and had the sinuous grace of a cat, while her waist length, nearly white hair was framed by black bangs that intensified her cold but brilliant blue eyes. When she was finished braiding said hair away from her face, she found the small chamber was empty save Mantis, who insisted on perching on her shoulder like an awkward parrot with four legs. The passage to her chamber from the main cavern was quite long, but as far as caves went, this one located on the warm coast of Draco was a steal like no other. The main cave was a sea cavern surrounded by large stones and a few sand beaches, making adequate housing for her aquatic dragons. Far back in the cave, close to where she slept, there was a large pool fed by a small waterfall, made from a spring that flowed in the cave walls. An enormous hole in the roof of the main cavern provided light, a food source for vines and plants growing in the cavern, and an entry and exit for the dragons. The walls of the cave were studded with ledges and smaller caverns, providing refuge for dragons not getting along and a nursery for her young dragons. Leopard Snow sighed again, but happily. It was a perfect home. Even with nearly 200 dragons and many more on the way, the cave, it seemed, would never be crowded.

As she entered the main cavern, she was greeted by squeaks and shrieks and a few friendly roars. A few of her extra-friendlies crowded her, but carefully, for most of the dragons here knew by experience that their human master was quite fragile, at least in comparison to them. "All right, all right my lovelies!" she laughed, patting snouts and rubbing shoulders. "Breathing room! Please!" The dragons fell back. About 8 were crowded around her. "Okay, okay. I love you all too. Now, I have a bunch of stuff to do today! Grooming, and feeding, and I have to go into town!" A few dragons huffed at her, and one sent her a picture of a red dragon curled up alone in a dark room. "Inferno of the Flame, you know that I adore you." She went up to the Red Dragon and rubbed his snout. "But we can't let the hatchlings starve or let anyone get scale rot, can we?" she whispered to him. "I love you." The dragon affectionately butted her with his head. "All right. We'll go flying today, promise."

By the time she was done consoling the large Red, all but one dragon had shoved off. Leopard Snow was relieved that the dragons largely took care of themselves. They groomed each other and hunted for each other, all the while doing what she asked, at least most of the time. Her dragons were more like people than most people, she reflected, seeing her youngest Waterhorse dragon, Crest that Splits the Sea, hanging back but looking at her. Leopard Snow walked over to the young male, balancing precariously on the large rock he had chosen, right above the water. "What's wrong?" she asked "Any Luminas being rude again? You know their more stuck up than the tax collectors." The dragon shook his head. "Well, what's wrong?" Leopard Snow asked again, dangerously close to the edge of the rock. "What is...oof!"

She was in the air and then she was in the water. Salt stung her eyes as she surfaced, wiping her face. Then she was upset again as an orange mass surged up underneath her. Leopard Snow gripped the collar around the Shallow Water Dragon's neck and quickly scanned the name. "Tsunami that Breaks the Shore! Shorebreaker! I have things to do!" But her protests were cut off as Shorebreaker submerged, so she tightened her arms and took a gulp of air in expectation. Under water, the Shallow Water Dragon twisted in fantastic shapes, slipping through the water. When he sensed Leopard Snow's need for air, he arched his back and pointed upwards. An explosion of droplets haloed the pair and they were flying before hitting the water with a smack. The Shallow Water Dragon pedaled his legs to keep her above the surface. Leopard Snow grinned. "Thanks a lot, my love. Now, what punishment would you like for participating in young Crest's little trick?" She tasted chicken, but didn't have a chance to reply, because the hole in the cavern was blocked by a pair of mighty wings.

The Tsunami Wyvern slowly descended into the cave, its enormous wings generating waves upon the water and a breeze that whipped throughout the cave. "Take me to shore." Leopard Snow whispered to the Shallow Water Dragon beneath her. In 10 seconds she was seated on a rock near the shoreline. Unfortunately, the figure perched on the Tsunami Wyvern's back was not a surprise visitor. Leopard Snow's day, that started out fine, was disintegrating into what a cockroach feels just before it is squashed under a corpulent man's boot.

(Don't knock over the orchids, don't knock over my orchids!) she thought ( Oh damn, she knocked over the orchids. Those pots weren't cheap. Show-off, bringing that great lout of a wyvern here. Thank god mine are much less clumsy. Oh dear sweet Father of Storms, there goes the lemon tree. Wonder what'll happen...) Her thoughts were cut off by the figure yelling.

"Is this the residence of Leopard Snow?" the figure yelled.

"You know damn well it is!" Leopard Snow yelled back " You've been here before, and do you have any idea how expensive those orchids were!? Stop showing off and get down here to tell me how much I owe you in late fees already! I have a busy day ahead of me!" With that, the woman on the wyvern's back slid down the left wing of her mount and landed primly on a rock. The Tsunami Wyvern landed on one of the many ledges in the cave and helped itself to a piece of deer, to the protestations of a Turpentine basking below.

"Lia, how good to see you! Young and fresh as ever! Sorry about the orchids. Speed here can be quite clumsy."

"Only my friends call me Lia." Leopard Snow replied primly. "How much do I owe, Sophie?

"Not a thing, not a thing. However, you have fallen behind.." she gave an airy little laugh "in certain obligations." Leopard Snow glared, and White Haret, an Albino Dragon who had come to stand beside her, growled.

"Fine." Sophie snapped. "I've got a young man by the name of Collin. He just got to Nyastara's district; he was previously living on an Island under Votehim's jurisdiction. He needs a place to learn how to live here on the mainland south coast, and I don't want to deal with him. He's quite attractive, by the way. Same age as you."

"I don't know whether to think this is a favor or some hook-up directed by you." Leopard Snow retorted. "He's your problem. Not mine. I don't want to have to teach anyone about the way things work here. What did he do for a living, anyway? Can't he do the same thing here?"

"A fisherman slash dock boy slash dragon hunter." Sophie shrugged. "I can't see any problems for you."

(Oh dear goddess. Does she think I'm stupid?) "No. I like my solitude."

"February. 731. 9:00 p.m. You bribed an official to give you a Sweetling egg when you refused to attend the Valentine party exchange, preferring to stay here and skip out on the required donation of two uncommon or one rare egg. I believe you had an Ultraviolet egg and Royal Blue egg, just laid. If you don't take the guy off my hands, I might let Nyastara know about your 'unfestive' attitude." Although Leopard Snow knew Sophie had no solid proof, she didn't know how much time and money it would cost her if Sophie did decide to cause trouble for her.

"Fine. Where is my future apprentice... room mate ... thing...?"

"At the rings, waiting for you."

"You know about my supposed "deal", ride out here on one of the largest dragons living in Draco, but don't bring the person?"

"Honey, I saved you a trip. Your Two-headed Dragon Fang of Hungry Wolf is due to fight in a couple hours. It'll hardly inconvenience you to get there a few hours early. Actually, I wouldn't mind a little...hmm... compensation... for my troubles." Sophie smiled.

(Is she serious?) "Please leave." (Before I get White Haret to disembowel you) Leopard Snow silently added. Glaring, but without a word, Sophie turned, and the Tsunami Wyvern crouched as she scrambled onto his back. In a few seconds they were gone.

Leopard Snow fell back against White Haret with a groan, then whistled twice, shrilly. Her favorite Skywing, Sky that Holds the Clouds, appeared, as if teleported. "Cloudsky," she said, scrawling out instructions on a scroll with the pen she always kept in her pocket "take this to the shop. Thanks" She tucked the scroll piece behind a reverse scale underneath the Skywing's chin, then leaned against White Haret with a groan. "WHAT, what for pity's sake, am I getting myself into?"


End file.
